Andiric Subjugation of Eandwic
The 'Andiric Subjugation of Eandwic '''is an ongoing Andiric campaign. It occurred after King Attaryan's sister, wife to Prince Gadlavan of Hedaber -- Emperor Aran's vassal -- died. As the couple had a baby, the duchy belonging to the Princess of Eandwic was to be passed onto him. However, what instigated the war was who the baby would serve as a vassal to, Eandwic or Ander. Background The war can be traced back to when Birihtwen, the sister of the Eandwican King, inherited a duchy in northern Eandwic from an uncle who specified her as heir. She was betrothed to Prince Gadlavan, the ruler of the Principality of Hedaber within the Empire of Ander. Even though the now-Duchess Birihtwen lied to Gadlavan about it, the marriage was a loveless one. The two had a child nevertheless. After the child grew to four months, Birihtwen divorced Gadlavan despite him never agreeing to it. She married a local lord instead, who was the one she loved. Prince Gadlavan and his family were outraged. A few months passed with many conflicts and debates between the judges and clergy of both Ander and Eandwic, but nothing came of it. After the debates did not resolve themselves, Prince Gadlavan decided to take matters into his own hands. He rode into Eandwic with a small band of men and set off to find Weor, the Duchess's husband. Weor was found in a small village within his lands, and Gadlavan's men ambushed him. Weor's guards were killed by Gadlavan's knights, and Gadlavan himself killed Weor. The Prince's men tried to return back to Ander, but they were greeted by the Duchess's troops. They were all captured, and forcibly taken to the capital of Eandwic for a trial. Emperor Aran quickly stepped in and paid the ransom, and so held the trial in Ander instead. The killing of Weor was ruled legal, since there was an old law that vaguely excused people who kill their wives' lovers. Although King Attaryan was disappointed, there wasn't much that he could do about it, since the law also existed in Eandwic. After the trial, Gadlavan sent only the skull of Weor to the Duchess. He gathered his whole levy, preparing to forcibly take back his son from Birihtwen. After the death of her husband, Birihtwen fell into a state of depression. She renamed her son to Weor, in order to make everyone remember what happened to her husband. However, Birihtwen's depression worsened as her son grew ill with a fever. Ultimately, she threw herself from a tower and died from the fall. March 987 - Involvement of the Emperor Gadlavan immediately raised his land's levy, moving into the Eandwican duchy and occupying most of it. However, King Attaryan's uncle, Vethiod, holed himself up in a fort, ruling in the name of the baby Duke Weor. Both Emperor Aran and King Attaryan noticed, and although some attempts of peace were made, none stopped the two rulers. Emperor Aran wished to prove himself worthy of his bloodline, as he barely managed to shut down the Ryredele rebellion. King Attaryan's vassals were angry at him for not ending the matter already, and felt that their new King was weak. Both of the rulers decided to raise their men and meet on the battlefield. Ander's weakened forces only slightly outnumbered the eager Eandwican troops, who were veterans from the war with Eandwic. Start of the War Emperor Aran armed his men lightly, and most of his force comprised of light infantry, some archers, as well as light cavalry. This saved the Andiric army much time, time that they needed dearly. The army was equipped with siege equipment and was not ready for any set piece battles. The army rushed into northwestern Eandwic, being surprisingly efficient with besieging cities. Prince Gadlavan and his army were separated from the Andir army after a minor dispute, and the Prince guided his men south into Vethiod's territory. Gadlavan set siege to Vethiod's fortress and waited for the Andir army to arrive. The only army that did arrive was Eandwic's. What followed was a short battle that was a minor victory for the Eandwicans. Prince Gadlavan was reprimanded for his actions by the Emperor, and the Prince's forces retreated back north. The Emperor bode his time and launched few assaults on the Eandwicans, focusing on fortifying the borders instead. This proved effective, and the Eandwicans were unable to occupy any Andiric land for long. Anticipating that this would become a war of attrition, King Attaryan quickly started to send some messengers to neighbouring states. The King had few allies even in his own kingdom, but he nevertheless sent some envoys out to his neighbours, Cadiliwyn, Tir'bjod (called Rahuthvas in their native tongue), and the Strodyne tribes to the west. Cadiliwyn and Tir'bjod refused outright, since they had many conflicts with Eandwic. The Strodynes declined respectfully, since there was already trouble brewing within their ranks. April 988 - An Unexpected Reply However, there was an outside bet: Michestadt. The Eandwicans never expected the Michestadters to join the war, but nevertheless they sent a message calling for help. After some time, Michestadt agreed to help and promptly declared war on Ander and their Ybirish allies, Rhurmeyen and several other petty states. This was very sudden, since Michestadt and Ander were on good terms and Rhurmeyen were close trade partners of Michestadt. The northern Andiric border, although having many old forts, was vastly underprepared for attack, and the Michestatders were dangerously close to Ander's capital. Michestadt's aggression caused a power struggle in Ybirawen, between pro- and anti-Ander coalitions. The Margraves' War What followed in Ybirawen is called the Margraves' War, after the many petty lords leading in the former Ybirish Empire. The Andiric coalition was led by Rhurmeyen, and included mainly lords from Aelryst and the central part of Ybirawen. The Anti-Andiric coalition was led by Michestadt, and was composed of lords from Gabrycg to Ayles. Michestadt, having the most well-prepared army, was able to rout much of the Rhurmeyer army, as they were unprepared and not expecting a declaration of war at all. The Michestadters did not slow themselves down in Rhurmeyen, and left it for their allies to attack. Instead, they directly marched down to Ander with a sizable force of 5,000, which was around a quarter of their whole army. The King of Michestadt, Adluvey, was leading this force well into Andiric land, reaching within fourteen leagues of Accarden. This alarmed the Emperor, but ultimately he could do nothing about it without sacrificing the southern border. So Emperor Aran tasked his brother, Fradriche, with turning the tide in the northern front. Fradriche was the leader of the Kranbazers, or Greencloaks, who were a well-organized, and technologically advanced military force. They only numbered 1,000, and for this reason the Emperor believed that he was sending his brother to certain death. Emperor Aran felt guilty and could not get over the fact that he may not see his brother again, but nevertheless sent him north. The Greencloaks Prince Fradriche arrived to Accarden swiftly, and he gathered up his force of Greencloaks within a few hours. After some military drills, the popular prince went north to stop the Michestadter army. He set up camp a few miles away from the Michestadters and waited. King Adluvey was gleeful, believing that he could capture an important commander and hostage if he could defeat Fradriche. Adluvey didn't bother with recruiting more soldiers, and simply marched down to Fradriche's camp. July 988 - Battle of the Wagonfort But what Adluvey found was far from what he expected. As the Michestadter warriors approached the camp, they only found some carts, which they assumed to be the disused supply lines of the Andirs. However, they couldn't be more wrong. The Andirs suddenly rose and shot volleys of gunfire at the approaching Michestadters, which made Adluvey's army lose a significant amount of men. Fradriche instructed his army to use pike-and-shot tactics, by shooting volleys and letting the pikemen kill any cavalry or enemies who near the wagon-fort. This was highly effective, and to boost morale, Fradriche paraded behind the lines with some dragoons encouraging the men to fight on and load faster. Adluvey's forces were eventually routed. Although the King of Michestadt's forces suffered around 400 casualties, their morale took a huge hit. This would be the first decisive victory which Ander won in the war, as the Andirs took minimal casualties. The Michestadters fled back to the border and constructed forts, as Adluvey's soldiers refused to face Fradriche again unless it was in defense. Fradriche's smart thinking and the Kranbazers' advanced technology halted the Michestadter advance at least temporarily. Accarden was safe. Emperor Aran was relieved, and arranged for a parade for Fradriche in the capital. Fradriche and his Greencloaks were received by cheering crowds and applause. Fradriche recruited many more potential Greencloaks, trying to increase his army's size in preparation for another assault. The Prince was successful, and within a few weeks his force increased to nearly 2,000 men. This angered Gadlavan, as he is a fierce enemy of Fradriche's. A Significant Casualty The Emperor, who was leading his forces in a fort near the southern border, unexpectedly fell into an illness. It was thought to be nothing at first, but it turned very serious very quickly. Many doctors were brought to help heal Emperor Aran, and none were fully successful. Aran, thinking that he may die bedridden if he did nothing, got up from his bed and walked to his men with a cane. Although he was very weak, Aran rode his horse and told his men that battle was to come. He led an army of 15,000 south, where he met an Eandwican force awaiting him. Although the Eandwicans outnumbered the Andirs by nearly 5,000, the Andirs were inspired by their previously-bedridden Emperor being able to walk and lead from his horse. The two forces clashed in the Battle of Fridecot in April 988 A.P., with moderate casualties to both armies. Ultimately, Emperor Aran fell from his horse and broke several of his bones. While his soldiers were carrying him from the field, however, the Emperor was injured and died of blood loss after the battle ended and both sides withdrew. The succession line wasn't clear, and as such a regency council ruled briefly in Aran's name. January 989 - Seizing Power After a few days of regency, there were rumours of cousins of Aran claiming the throne. This became a legitimate threat as nobles began aligning themselves to various members of the Geatfurde family. However, Prince Fradriche, being the only one with a ready army and actually being in the capital, had the most public support. The regency council was resistant to pressure from the various claimants, trying to find some legitimate wills written by Aran before declaring an heir. Fradriche had none of it; he and his Kranbazers set siege to the palace, starving the regency council in a matter of only half a week. Fradriche immediately had a coronation ceremony in order to legitimize his rule, now becoming Emperor Fradriche I. Although there were still other claimants seeking to sit on the throne, they had no support at all. Gadlavan Isolated After taking power, the newly-crowned Emperor Fradriche decided to make peace with Eandwic as fast as possible. He negotiated peace talks in private, but Gadlavan, the Prince of Hedaber, had heard of them and denounced the Emperor repeatedly. He gathered a small alliance of lords in order to try to depose the Emperor, and promptly declared open rebellion. Further Conflict ''See: The Margraves' WarCategory:Event Category:War